• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.26 no.8
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• pp.1638-1644
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• 2002

A novel locomotion using the pneumatic impulsive actuator was proposed for robotic colonoscope. This locomotion showed good moving performance in the environment of rigid pipe, however, the displacement per one impact(step displacement) is greatly reduced due to the low stiffness and high damping characteristics of the colon. Therefore, the modeling technique based on spring and damping system is studied to predict the step displacement and some parametric studies are carried out to investigate main parameters that influence the step displacement of locomotion. Based on simulation result, a new locomotion to control the resistance force is suggested and fabricated. Through the experiment on the colon, the usefulness of modeling technique is confirmed and successful improvement of moving characteristics is achieved.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2001.06b
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• pp.271-276
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• 2001

Conventional clonoscope is semiflexible tube that should be manipulated by operator for inspection and treatment. Therefore, it sometimes causes pain for the patient and even perforation to the wall of colon if a surgeon is not well trained. For safe colonoscopy, self-propelling robots with inchworm locomotion are studied. But, inchworm locomotion has some problems in adaptiveness to the variation of colon diameter. In this paper, we propose novel locomotive mechanism which can move in the colon without any external assistance. It has several cams that have constant phase difference each other and located along the centerline of the mechanism. This mechanism could realize the robotic endoscope which has continuous and smooth thrust force.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.521-526
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• 2016

This paper suggests a new design that makes use of rotary inertia that can allow autonomous movement of an autonomous colonoscope robot in the colon of a patient as a locomotive mechanism. As commercial colonoscopy causes a lengthy time of pain and discomfort to the patients when colonoscopy patients are reluctant to receive surgery, there is a tendency to avoid the test in the early diagnosis of colorectal cancer. To solve this problem, research has been conducted on the next generation of robotic colonoscopes that can reduce the discomfort and pain by moving autonomously within the colon of the patients. In the driving mechanism utilizing the rotational inertia, a flywheel is driven by a motor to store energy and produce rotational inertia. By the energy stored and released by the flywheel, the stick phenomenon that occurs when the robot is running in the intestine can be overcome effectively. To do this, a controller that can control the velocity of the flywheel and is robust to high frequency noise was designed and implemented. The driving mechanism using the rotational inertia presented here showed that the structure is also effective and the experiment can be run easily compared to another mechanism.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.789-795
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• 2010

For the reliable clamping of a robotic colonoscope inside the colon, we propose a clamping module consisting of six legs at the front and a trigger at the rear. In addition, a pneumatic-line based locomotive mechanism, which was developed previously for in-pipe inspection, is adopted to reduce the friction force between the pneumatic lines and the locomotion environment. In order to evaluate locomotion performance, a robot with a diameter of 15 mm and a length of 110.250 mm is used. Based on control signal from LabVIEW, it is tested in acrylic pipe and pig's colon. The proposed robot is able to move in the curved path which has a radius of over 25 mm. The speed of the robot is 33 mm/s in a straight path and 12.1 mm/s on a vertical path. The proposed robot, which has one pneumatic line and two clamping modules, conclusively shows reliable locomotion performance under in vitro condition.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2001.06b
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• pp.295-300
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• 2001

In recent years, as changing the habit of eating, the pathology in the colon grows up annually. For that reason, the colonoscopy is generalized. But it requires much time to acquire a dexterous skill to perform an operation. And the procedure is painful to the patient. Therefore, biomedical and robotic researchers are developing a locomotive colonoscope that can travel safely in colon. In this paper, we propose a novel design and concept of semi-autonomous colonoscope and two actuators for the micro robot. The micro robot comprises camera and LED for diagnosis, steering system to pass through the loop, pneumatic actuator and bow-shaped flexible supporters to control a contact force and to keep the space between colon wall and the actuator. For actuating mechanism, we suggest two models. One is based on the reaction force, and the other is impact force. In order to validate the concept and the performance of the actuators, we carried out the preliminary experiments in rigid pipes.

• Journal of Institute of Control, Robotics and Systems
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.345-350
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• 2002

In recent years, as changing the habit of eating, the pathology in the colon grows up annually. The colonoscopy is generalized, but if requires much time to acquire a dexterous skill to perform an operation and the procedure is painful to the patient. biomedical and robotic researchers are developing a locomotive colonoscope that can travel safe1y in colon. In this paper, we propose a new actuator and concept of semi-autonomous colonoscope. The micro robot comprises camera and LED for diagnosis, steer- ing system to pass through the loop, pneumatic actuator and bow-shaped flexible supporters to control a contact force and to pass over haustral folds in colon. For locomotion of semi-autonomous colonoscope, we suggest an actuator that is based on impact force between a cylinder and a piston. In order to validate the concept and the performance of the actuator, we carried out the simulation of moving characteristics and the preliminary experiments in rigid pipes and on the colon of pig.